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I heard that a live-in nanny costs $33000-$40000 in Melbourne, Australia and wonder if this figure is correct? It is so much more expensive than Toronto where a live-in nanny costs $19000. I thought the cost of living between Canada and Australia is similar, anyone knows why the big difference in nanny cost between the two countries?
The cost is about right. I live in sydney and it is about the same also. The reason as to why it is so expensive is because the concept of a stay at home nanny in Australia is almost never considered. We just don't do it down here!. Almost everyone with a child/toddler leaves them at child cares or afternoon day cares offered by the schools. For this reason the demand for child cares is high and are in abundance. Though expensive, it is hardly that of a stay at home nanny. besides, If i had a neighbour with a stay at home nanny....Well i just thinks thats weird. Many workplaces offer the option for parents to bring their children to work as nurseries are available at little or no extra cost. Please remember, though it is uncommon for stay at home nannies in Australia, we do have them!
I heard that a live-in nanny costs $33000-$40000 in Melbourne, Australia and wonder if this figure is correct? It is so much more expensive than Toronto where a live-in nanny costs $19000. I thought the cost of living between Canada and Australia is similar, anyone knows why the big difference in nanny cost between the two countries?
Hi jyjennifer,
Cost of living may be similar overall, although I'd say that's changed since we moved here 10 years ago, with Oz getting pricier in that time. As far as why would a nanny cost way more here is because there is a big difference in minimum wages between our two countries. What's it in Canada now? $8 or $9 per hour? Here you're looking at minimum $14/hr.
And I'm not sure that there's even a tax rebate for child care expenses if you have an in-home nanny versus an outside childcare centre. Anybody else here in the forum know that? I don't believe there is, but I could be wrong. I believe I read something just recently where they were talking about bringing that in.
Yes, as levendis says, having a nanny is considered very unusual here. When I tell people we had nannies for our kids in Canada they always think we were rich or that we earned six-figure salaries. Wrong in both cases. It was just more affordable. And preferable. I wouldn't have gone back to work if I had to take mine to a childcare centre. Just not what I would have wanted.
I'm currently working in London but is considering moving back to Toronto or Australia (Melbourne or Sydney) eventually for a more family friendly environment. (Partner is from down under). I am trying to get a sense of which city is more suitable in terms of job opportunity and pay (for both investment industry and IT industry, cost of living (including maternity benefit and cost of childcare, cost of household help etc), healthcare etc. I am familiar with the life in Canada but know nothing about Australia. Would you have any insight to share?
Tougher job environment here lately, just be aware of that. I'm in IT, in a large finance company. Quite a few job cuts in the past 3-4 months with a hiring freeze, and most contracts not going to be renewed. Melbourne and Sydney are the place to be for finance, particularly Sydney.
Cost of living, I'd say Melbourne is better, particularly for housing, although neither are cheap. Australia's pretty high up there on the unaffordable list as far as housing goes - taking into account not just house prices but salaries to pay for those houses. Look up the Demographia survey, quite the shocker. Sydney's up there with Vancouver unaffordability-wise. Cars are more expensive than Canada, same for appliances, broadband, phones. Insurance seems cheaper here though - car and house.
Maternity benefits - we don't have the same paid parental leave system as Canada does. By law you get a year's leave, unpaid. But some larger companies, and government jobs, have some paid maternity leave. I think 6 weeks paid is the usual. But new parents get a baby bonus of $5000, plus the family tax benefit, the amount varying depending on your income. I find Oz is more generous to families where one parent chooses to stay at home.
Healthcare - I'd say our public hospital system is similar to Canada's. They take care of you in an emergency, but for everything else you wait, sometimes for a long time. But from the stories I hear from friends and family in Canada, Oz doesn't make you wait as long as Canada does generally. Perhaps because we have private health here, which probably takes some of the pressure off the public health system. We have private health insurance. I love having that choice. And being able to get something taken care of within weeks, particularly the so-called "elective" surgery, which often isn't all that non-essential as it affects your quality of life and long-term well-being. Doctor's visits aren't free here, however, unless you're on a low income. You pay a "gap" - an excess over the Medicare fee. Our doc charges about $60 per visit now, and we get back about half.
Household help and nannies, like all costs of labour here, are higher than what you are used to. Minimum wage is higher, as already mentioned, as well as costs for any tradespeople and labourers - plumbers, electricians, etc. So getting something fixed or renovated here can cost a lot.
Those are just a few things off the top of my head. It all depends on the individual though. Their lifestyle, needs, etc. Good luck with your decision. I know how daunting it is
Well you see, Job opportunities are far greater in sydney in the area of investment and information technology, also the pay. However, the cost of homes in sydney is more expensive than that in melbourne. the difference is, Sydney may have pockets of low income areas where as in Melbourne, each suburb has a wide range incomes ranging from very high to very low in the same area!
Melbourne's infrastructure is better, newer, than that of old Sydney. Expect similar levels of care in hospitals in both cities as well as similar quality education. Remember. In Australia, things like education and health are the same regardless of which state you live in, all are funded equally by the government.
I must agree with Vichel, Australia is generous to families, you get the baby bonus, home owners grant, for children they are allowed a youth allowance, seniors are allowed discounts for everything and of course, there is always some sort of tax benefit for just having a job! etc. We Australians are known for having a stress free relaxed lifestyle, we are not worried about saving or loosing a job. its all taken care of.
Yeah, i should also mention to check out the demographics or which ever city your choose, In sydney there are more lebanese people than Anglo saxon australians, there are also more Asians and Italians than Anglo saxon Australians. Melbourne is the largest greek city outside of greece and has a majority of its population from eastern europe. each nationality tends to bunch up together in certain areas. there's nothing worse than a serbian living in an area full of Croatians for example. or a turk around greeks.
From what I know, cost of living in Australia (as a % of average or median income) is much higher than in Canada. In Canada pretty much everything is cheaper and the median income is about 20~30% higher (if converted to Australian dollar).
besides, If i had a neighbour with a stay at home nanny....Well i just thinks thats weird. Many workplaces offer the option for parents to bring their children to work as nurseries are available at little or no extra cost. Please remember, though it is uncommon for stay at home nannies in Australia, we do have them!
I'll just add my two cents here...although it's not that common to have a nanny, I know a few people who do. It's more common when you have 2+ kids that need to be cared for at home because day care is also very expensive. Live-in is almost unheard of but a 9-5 nanny is not. My friend is an experienced nanny and in Sydney she can command a salary of $50K.
I would certainly NOT agree with the above that many workplaces offer childcare - that is still quite rare unless you work for the govt. Usually you have to find a place in private day care and in many parts of Sydney (I think particularly the affluent ones) there is a severe shortage and that wait can extend up to two years. To give you an idea of cost - before we left Australia if we had signed up for private day care near my work it would have been $90+ per day. The whole rebate thing seems to only succeed in pushing day care prices up, just as first home buyers grants do. They do not make anything more affordable.
I must agree with Vichel, Australia is generous to families, you get the baby bonus, home owners grant, for children they are allowed a youth allowance, seniors are allowed discounts for everything and of course, there is always some sort of tax benefit for just having a job! etc. We Australians are known for having a stress free relaxed lifestyle, we are not worried about saving or loosing a job. its all taken care of.
That's not at all true - Australians work long hours and are as stressed as anyone else. You kind of manage to make it sound like some socialist paradise! It's really not - while Oz has a more generous welfare system than the US (I don't know how it compares to Canada though) I think your average person would definitely be very worried over job loss. I for one would not want to have to try to survive of an unemployment benefit. Australia only just introduced paid parental leave (minimum wage for 3 months as of 2011??) so now is in line with other OECD countries.
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Canada vs Australia
